jbrinkm

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with meee...

May not be up yet for September, I don't know... I go to my app, the little ship on top, dining, main dining, selected "american icon grill" deck 3, clicked "menu" and then I can choose which day at the bottom.

The frozen ones are 😜

I made a reservation for April, but asked ahead of time - if the waterslide park reopened, our teens would want to go there instead (this may be the last cruise we do with both of them for a while), so would we be able to cancel? They said definitely, yes, no problem (I think they preferred before the ship sailed?), so I was also impressed with how flexible they were. They also said the waterpark was having trouble finding enough staff to reopen... I feel like they probably have a wait list since they are such a popular place.

My order: Day 1 Welcome Aboard Day 2 French Day 3 Italian Day 4 Caribbean Day 5 Mexican Day 6 Royal Night ("cold water Maine lobster") Day 7 Bon Voyage

This ⬆️ is probably the only advantage to customers. Mine is also up for Allure in April.

There are private tours where you can do a "three reef snorkel" too. We used Roatan Getaway Tours last year for a combo sloth/snorkel tour (through Viator) and they were great - but that one snorkel stop was primarily for beginners (we did care, the water was warm and clear and we saw lobsters, and we did snorkeling at other ports as well). We booked them again on our upcoming April trip for a full day private experience and included the three reef snorkel this time as part of the day's package. Their snorkeling gear was really nice - soft rubber and didn't fog.

Tends to be many more children on Royal than Celebrity. WJ seems to be the go-to for families that prefer not to deal with MDR with their little angels. Probably more use for the buffet on Royal than Celebrity?

Pics of our experiences in 2014 & 2017

That's a shame that the cupcake class has gone so far downhill. My oldest did it twice on Freedom class ships in 2014 & 2017 and it was great (the first time both kids and my MIL did it too). They really loved it - frog and lion the first time with a very funny chef, and a detailed hamburger shape the second time (also a 2nd cupcake with simple flower decoration). One of the times, they gave us extra cupcakes from the case to take back to the room with us.

Yes, in the app, you go to the little person/head icon at the top, then click "select a different cruise" then click "browse our ships" (which looks greyed out but you can click it still), then pick the ship and a date. Go through the same steps to set it back to your cruise, except you should see it after "select a different cruise" under your upcoming cruises.

One package with 4 devices = one set of log on information that can be used on 4 different devices at the same time (less expensive) Four packages = 4 sets of different log on information where each can be used on 1 device at a time (more expensive) The one package with 4 devices can be shared. The only time that one package with 4 devices might be a problem is if someone using the plan has two or more devices and forgets to log off when they switch. Since the log on information is shared, someone will get kicked off (I don't think anyone has figured out the logic behind which device gets kicked off). If everyone only has one device or everyone is really good about logging off before switching devices, you won't have any problems. My family of 4 used the one package/4 devices on our last cruise and will again on our upcoming cruise. Saved us a lot of money. The only time we had a problem is when I decided to download some additional shows one night for our trip back. I thought I logged out of my phone, but it didn't completely go through before I logged on to my tablet. That bumped off one of my teens, who logged back in, which bumped off the other teen, then they called me from the first one's phone and I realized that they shouldn't have been able to reach my phone because I had logged it off... oh wait...oops I'd definitely buy the one user, 4 device package for a significant savings and then just make sure everyone in your group knows to only use one device at a time.

If it is two families, this won't work, but if you just have a big family, you could try the Best Western Plus Galveston Suites. The 2 queen suite also has a sofa bed so theoretically could hold 6 (preferably if two were on the smaller side...). We booked here for a very reasonable price in April and it includes a breakfast. We'll still need a taxi or rideshare to the port in the morning, but waking up with a view of the ocean will make me feel like vacation has already started!

(There are several little fees mentioned in their flyer so be sure to count those in)

OK, as I said, I don't have AmEx, just read another thread on this same topic. Thanks for the clarification. If OP wants to see this other thread, it is actually on the *other* message board for this cruise line that I mentioned above and the thread is titled "Royal Caribbean Amex platinum confusion" posted by user Jakegreena.

If you have the resources and know-how, this might be a perfect situation for a Go Pro style recording device! There are several different types of harness/headwear accessories that would make it much easier for your device to passively record rather than trying to hold on to an iPhone while moving around.

We had this experience! I encourage people to check the website and call beforehand if you are interested in PAYG. Our pricing was strange, but this was back in April so it seems things have changed since then. We paid the $10 fee each for my teens to do the inflatables (with an additional $10pp necessary for food or drinks) but they came back after a few minutes and gave me a refund of $5pp, saying they overcharged for the toys. So we ended up paying only $5 each for my teens to have 2 hours on the inflatables. We did spend well over $10pp on food and beverage to have lunch there. It was delicious, really tasty food!

Or use a TA where you might get a discount on the room of your choice.

What a wonderful recount of your experiences. Thank you for sharing. Sometimes it takes just one person to start the process of being kind & considerate to others and it starts a chain reaction. It's like once people are "reminded," they remember to see the humanity in others. I hope that all of us can be that person on our next cruise!

Yes! And I forgot to say that some TAs will also automatically reprice for you if the rate lowers!

This is interesting because there have been rumors about Uber contracting to go into the port but I hadn't seen any confirmation that the deal had been confirmed. Most people have been saying they had to go about 3 blocks to get outside of the port to use Uber. I wonder how they know for sure that it is an Uber dropping off rather than a personal vehicle, unless they have the flashy dashboard light on. Could you say more about where you were dropped off?

I can see the full schedule of shows in the app when I set it to the current sailing of Allure (which started yesterday), as well as the schedule for next week.

I may be wrong, but I read @twangster's comments as a caution about which type of TA to use. I used a TA for the first time last year after booking for myself several cruises before that (and I'm using a TA again for my upcoming cruise in April). I was surprised by how much I enjoyed using a TA, when I usually like to do planning for myself. I felt like I did not lose control over anything I wanted to plan, but rather I just had an advocate for things that would be really difficult for me to handle on my own. There are some good ones out there - but they aren't necessarily the ones that are trying to draw you in with OBC or other perks. The good ones will sometimes offer a perk - I've gotten one each of the last two cruises - but they don't have to, to still generate business and serve their customers well. I use the cruise planner on my own, I schedule all of my own stuff, but if I want to switch up something major, I just shoot off a quick email and it is handled, rather than waiting on hold for 2 hours with RCI... For OP - I don't use AMEX but I do remember reading a thread where knowledgeable posters said that the AMEX benefits come through their own travel agency only - there's apparently a specific website When I use a TA, I still got Royal Up emails and could have bid if I wanted to (our teens have had an adjoining room both times so we don't participate) Your status comes with you regardless of how you book. TAs use your C&A number when booking. I think there is some confusion about TAs with cruising because it is very different than other trips you might take (I was confused before I started using one). It really ends up being a split responsibility, not just turning over complete control. Also, if you want to talk specifics, you can head over to the other message forum that is cruise line specific (not run by Royal but a fan site - royal caribbean blog dot com).

Probably. There's a pool and an aviary, right in the port. Also some restaurants that had some hoppin music as we passed - seemed fun. Also the ship can be nice when everyone else is off.

Free now, no more charge in 2023. Kids need to be 13 to have their own account in the app. Also the app probably won't notify you for a new message - you'll have to manually check to see if someone sent a message (I've seen one report that they did get notifications from the app about messages but mostly people say they aren't notified).